Objective

The objective of the ERIS project are

To advance mediation technology in breadth and scope

Bring mediation technology into practical use

Use mediation technology as a prototype to resolve the diverse information problems
that arise when information from the many datasources that contain information relevant
to environmental cleanup at INEEL must be integrated.

Demonstrate the effectiveness of mediation technology in dealing with such data

Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory

Final report

Work Scope

Stanford University, in cooperation with INEL's Data Access Products
Directorate (DAP), proposes to continue with the third phase of the
Mediator Project, which was originally started in FY-95 and continued
through FY-96. During this third phase, Stanford University will
provide research into areas of additional functionality that the
mediator, developed in Phase Two, should provide for resolving data
access issues at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL).
During FY-97, the project will develop detailed requirements and
specifications for those areas that will enhance th e an d
capabilities of mediator software components. New software components
will be created when necessary and existing software components will
be modified appropriately. An enhanced mediated software architecture
and functional prototype will be the end result. Stanford University
will work with INEL DAP to develop and transition the technology and
update the functional prototype application at the INEL.

Potential research areas include but are not limited to:

Identifying and defining additional "human knowledge" that
mediators could capture and utilize. Provide a means to capture,
encode, and save corporate knowledge.

Identifying and defining additional functionality which provides
increased "intelligence" and "knowledge" appropriate for mediator
software components to perform and provide.

Identifying and defining a method and architecture for the mediator
to provide information about the mediator's "knowledge" and
"capabilities" to an end-user.

Defining a method and architecture for performing translation
between "domain-specific" ontologies.

Identifying and defining a method and architecture for accessing
"metadata" from one source and "real data" from a separate source.

Identifying and defining a method and architecture for using
mediators to perfor m of information.

This research into additional mediator functionality will be performed
with the realization that the existing information systems, and the
software they support, are a major investment, and that any revisions
must be handled incrementally. At the same time, it is likely that
revisions will be necessary to bring existing systems into concert
with:

Developing customer requirements

Adaptation to modern technology

Transition to economical platforms

Transition to economical and reliable software maintenance

Requirements for integration of information from disjoint data

Introduction of means to upgrade security and verification of data

A simplification of the overall architecture for long-term needs.

Technologies that Stanford will consider to bring to bear include:

Business model analysis to structure detailed requirements

Advanced data modeling, with algebraic capabilities for transformation
of data structures and their processing

Formulation, definition, and documentation of a supporting mediated software architecture.

Identification, definition, and documentation of the technology requirements to
support the added functionality of the mediator software components and the
underlying mediated architecture. Technology requirements will address
hardware and software needed for both the development and run-time environments.

Design, development, testing, implementation, and documentation of new and
modified software components and the corresponding underlying mediated system.

Provide support for demonstration and implementation of all incremental (
interim release) and final, functional prototype software components.

Terms

The period of performance will be approximately nine (9) months starting on or
about January 6, 1997, and ending on September 30, 1997.

As part of the proposed effort, an assessment and implementation team
will be formed consisting of Dr. Gio Wiederhold of Stanford University
and supporting university personnel as well as INEL personnel. By
this combination of people and organizations, actual problems
presented by INEL can be addressed via the research technology
available at Stanford and other sources and can then be applied in
implemented solutions. This will allow the INEL to leverage and
capitalize on mediator research already conducted. In addition, it is
anticipated that this combination of people and organizations will
allow for a significant cross-flow of technology and information,
assuring that not only will the INEL obtain functional software, but
also mediator application development capabilities that will serve it
well into the future.

Final documentation for all software components developed and/or modified.

These deliverables will be consistent with the following assumptions:

Stanford University will follow configuration management procedures defined by the INEL
DAP for any software component+s source code and documentation.

Document contents will be defined and agreed to by both Stanford University and INEL DAP
during initial meetings that discuss the details of the specific deliverables.

All documentation will be delivered in Microsoft Word 6.0 or higher format.

Statement of Ability to Perform Work:

Dr. Gio Wiederhold, Stanford University Professor of Computer Science,
has extensive experience in the database and structures domain and
completed three years at the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA)
as a program manager in Information Integration Technology. Previous
ARPA research conducted at his direction provides the foundation for
much of the technology intended for development and deployment as part
of this project. His background and the expertise of the support
organizations available to him provide unique capabilities necessary
for the completion of this project.

The Computer Science Department at Stanford University is rated as a
prime Computer Science Research Center in the world. In addition to
its faculty, staff, and students it provides excellent technical
resources for experimental and theoretical research. The department
supports a world-class Computer Science Library, including various
computerized search services. The department operates an
infrastructure network connecting small and large computer systems for
research, education, and administration to each other and the
Internet. Within the Computer Science Department, the Stanford
Database Group runs a growing workstation cluster with approximately
20 workstations. The Facilities staff maintains an up-to-date
software environment, including a Sybase DBMS, an Oracle DBMS, Common
Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) software, and a
Commercial-off-the Shelf (COTS) Object-Oriented DBMS.

Detailed Cost Proposal:

Omitted

RESUMES:

Stanford Principal Investigator:

Dr. Gio Wiederhold is a Professor of Computer Science at Stanford
University. He also holds courtesy appointments in Medicine and
Electrical Engineering. As a member of the Computer Systems
Laboratory, the Starlab, the Medical Information Science Program, and
the Center for Integrated Systems, he is active in the application and
development of knowledge-based techniques to database management,
information systems, and software construction. This research
direction, intitiated with the KBMS project at Stanford in 1977, has
now become an active research field in its own right. Results derived
from this work are found in general system design, medicine,
information systems, and planning applications.

From 1991 to 1994, he was the Program Manager for Knowledge-Based
Systems at ARPA, initiating programs in Intelligent Integration of
Information (I3) and in Persistent-Object Bases. He also participated
in establishing directions for a Software Foundations program,
specifically in composition technology for large, multi-site systems.

Before joining the Stanford faculty, Gio led the development of
flexible real-time data-acquisition, file and database systems to
support clinical research. Recent research into workstations for
design and experiment planning integrates these interests.

Gio is a member of the ACM publications board, having completed six
years as Editor-in-Chief for ACM's TRANSACTIONS ON DATABASE SYSTEMS,
and focuses now on refereed electronic publications. He is still an
Associate Editor of Springer-Verlag's M.D. COMPUTING magazine.
Wiederhold has more than 250 publications in computing and medicine,
including a widely used McGraw-Hill textbook on DATABASE DESIGN, a
later book on FILE ORGANIZATION FOR DATABASE DESIGN, a monograph on
DATABASES FOR HEALTH CARE with the Springer Verlag, and a 1991
textbook on MEDICAL INFORMATICS, co-authored with Ted Shortliffe. He
has been chairman and program chairman of several conferences.

He received a degree in aeronautical engineering in Holland in 1957
and shortly after came to the United States. After gaining 16 years
of industrial experience, he returned to school and earned in 1976 a
Ph.D. in Medical Information Science from the University of California
in San Francisco. He has been on the Stanford faculty since that
time. He is a member of the AAAS, AAMI, AIAA, ACL, ACM, and a fellow
of the ACMI, the IEEE and the ACM. He has been a member of the ACM
since 1960.

He has consulted for many governmental and commercial enterprises,
among them the United Nations Development Programme, the US Department
of Health and Human Services, various US defense agencies, and of
course with the Silicon Valley innovators.